A Better Tomorrow
by Da God Cane
Summary: Set at the end of "The Block Is Hot". Jazmine doesn't like the reality of her misfortune, and Huey swallows his pride for the sake of helping his friend. Slight Huey/Jaz, somewhat OOC depending on your point of view.


A/N: Wow, my first Boondocks project, I would have thought I could've done this sooner, being every bit as black and crazy as some of the characters on the show. Anyway, set at the end of "The Block Is Hot". Huey/Jaz sweetness.

_"Good morning, hustlaz that's if you still livin', get on down _

_Every time that we hit em, good morning,_

_hustlaz that's if you still livin' Get on down, every time that we hit em, good morning"_

_-Kanye West and Jay-Z, (Good Morning)_

_A Better Tomorrow_

Huey Freeman and Jazmine Dubois stared at the flaming lemonade booth as they stood in the midst of a rather sudden and unexpected snow.

Tears welled up in the mulatto girl's eyes, but no sound came from her as she began to weep silently. Once again, the harsh realities of life had smacked her across the face, the ones that Huey always talked about. She didn't just lose a lemonade stand, a pony, or end up in debt for 300.00 to Ed Wuncler. She lost her dignity. Whatever usual childish optimism she had was completely faded by how she was just capitally screwed by the system. Her hands clenched into fists, and Jazmine made no effort to wipe the tears from her face.

This didn't get past Huey, who only continued to stare at the fire intently, when suddenly, he spoke up.

"Don't cry Jazmine."

He said this without looking at her, and his revolutionary's glare had softened into a furrowed brow of pity and understanding, still watching the flames lick at the air from the stand. She turned her head to him, wondering what force inside of Huey could have brought up this uncharacteristic statement. As far as this whole mess was concerned, he spent every opportunity trying to make her see that Wuncler was a criminal, a manipulative and possibly sociopathic human being...and here they were now. Huey was right once again, Jazmine was left with nothing, yet he remained beside her in the aftermath of the situation.

She sniffed, "Why? Why is life so unfair Huey Freeman?"

The young negro wished he had a real answer for the impossible question, but it did not deter him from trying to reassure Jazmine.

"No one knows, Jazmine... The most I can tell you is that God works in mysterious ways, and that any and all bullshit is just a natural occurrence in everyone's lives. But you of all people shouldn't let it get to you, especially at this age."

A few minutes passed as the pair of them just stood there, no longer staring at the flames of Jazmine's corporate defeat, but now looking at the dying embers of a simple, trivial, memory. She suddenly felt detached, loose, and free; as always, Huey was right, she wouldn't give a good goddamn about this tomorrow, and would just look for the next business venture. She would get her own pony one day; just not by dealing with Ed Wuncler or making lemonade. After a time, it did become apparent that it was cold out here though, and Jazmine wondered how long she and Huey had stood there. Ruckus was no longer carrying on behind them, and Granddad and Riley were already inside and unbeknownst to the two, spying on them from their windows.

Huey handed his scarf to the girl, and she at least now had something to keep her neck warm. Jazmine smiled at him, and then threw her arms around his neck, pulling the revolutionary into a tight embrace filled with emotion.

Caught off-guard, Huey didn't push her off as he normally would, in fact, he actually lifted his arms to wrap around her waist and hugged her back.

Huey Freeman and Jazmine Dubois hugged in the snow, absorbing the others warmth in this display of affection.

After a few minutes, she disrupted the calm aura that surrounded them.

"Hey Huey," she started, voice regaining the sweet naivete that was adorable to most adults, "what do you think of Jazmine's Hot Chocolate Explosion? I make some really good hot chocolate and-"

Suddenly, Huey wasn't hugging her anymore, but was doing an even more frightening thing, one that she had only seen him do the previous week.

Huey Freeman was smiling.

Yet, astonishingly, impossibly, and oddly enough, hell didn't freeze over, the sky didn't fall, and the universe remained intact.

"You probably do, but I think you want to get inside first if you don't wanna catch a cold."

And with that, he turned and walked to his house, hands in his pockets, coat billowing in the frozen wind.

Jazmine smiled even wider, and then went her separate way as well, Huey's warmth inexplicably entwined with hers.

"Oh, Jazmine?" Huey called back as he reached the front door.

"Yes Huey?"

The boy instantly reverted to his perpetual frown and "cold-as-ice" demeanor, "I'd rather this moment never go mentioned ever in life. You're going to take the secret with you to your grave, understand?"

Jazmine disregarded his little switch, as if that was going to lessen the gravity of the actions that took place here on this snowy day in Woodcrest, and simply giggled at him before running off towards her house, light and happy.

Huey sighed deeply, and allowed himself one more smile before opening the door, replacing his joyful look with a tired one.

Hanging up his coat on the rack in the foyer, he saw Granddad and Riley snickering at him from the top staircase.

'Oh fuck.'

* * *

I can't believe this was really just a result of watching the show only last night, but I decided to take that last scene a little further up the road. I'm pretty sure that you all will take them for OOC, but what is forgotten about Huey and Jazmine occasionally is that they're just kids. I hope you enjoyed this fic, I know I enjoyed writing it. This was titled by a Wu-Tang Clan song of the same name.

P-E-A-C-E!


End file.
